Hamsa

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This gorgeous tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Jovino and is licensed under Creative Commons.

A hamsa is an ancient hand-shaped symbol usually utilized for protection. It is most popular in the Middle East and North Africa and is believed to originate with the ancient Phoenicians of Carthage (that'd be North Africa for you non-history buffs). Another name for the hamsa is the Hand of Fatima in honor Fatima Zahra, daughter of the prophet Muhammad.

Peri

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This tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of Kawaface and is licensed by Creative Commons.

This tattoo features the Persian Peris, descendants of fallen angels who must serve penance before being readmitted to heaven.

Assyrian Ink

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This nifty tattoo comes from the Flickrstream of MyTat_2 and is licensed under Creative Commons.

This tattoo includes several different Mesopotamian images that have been combined to form a unique piece of art. The wings are a fairly well-known image, often associated with Ahura Mazda as in the image below.



The star in the middle is usually representative of the planet Venus and, thusly, the Akkadian goddess Ishtar, and her Sumerian counterpart Inanna, who was closely associated with the planet.

It's always nice when I manage to find tattoos of Mesopotamian subject matter. To be clear, the term Mesopotamia covers a wide range of cultures that existed between or around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq, parts of Iran, Turkey and Syria. It includes the Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Akkadian and Uruk cultures. The mighty Persian Empire was/is closely related to Mesopotamia through conquest. While the aforementioned nations are all linked by geography and - to some extent - religion and style they are by no means identical. Even the cultures of Babylon and Sumer, which had their cores in the same exact spot, are unique. And all are fascinating and loaded with beautiful images of their gods and goddesses. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of this imagery to be found on skin. To that end, if you manage to find any that's licensed by Creative Commons I'd love to have a link!

Curly Tree of Life

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This very pretty tree comes from the Flickrstream of Three Little Cupcakes and is listed under a Creative Commons license.

This nifty tattoo was created by Amanda Cancilla at Artistic Skin Designs in Indianapolis, IN. The original Flickr page says that the owner's son's name is in the roots, but I can't quite make it out. UPDATE: Clare picked out the name in the comments section: it's Sawyer!

The Tree of Life is a title that features in many ancient cultures; what follows is a small sampling. In the Bible the Tree of Life grows alongside the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden of Eden. In Persian mythology the tree of life, Gao-kerena, has roots that reach into the world ocean called Voura-kasa. Its seeds can not only resurrect the dead but grant immortality to people who eat them! In Sumatra and Indonesia it is called Djambu Baros and grows in the topmost heaven. On each leaf a word is written such as: joy, prosperity, etc. Each soul must acquire one of these leaves before it can leave the Earth and whichever leaf it obtains decides the fortunes of the souls future incarnation. The most popular Tree of Life, among most neopagans, is the Celtic Tree of Life. This tree has its roots in the Otherworld, its trunk resides into our waking world while its topmost branches reach into the heavens and was believed to bestow blessings upon the living. When tribes cleared land for settlement they were known to leave one large tree in the area and it was known as their own local Tree of Life. (More on the Celtic reverence for trees in a few days.) In the tradition of Kaballah the Tree of Life is interpreted as a map of reality and equated, by some, as the same Tree of Life from the Bible (and the beginning of this paragraph). This concludes my summary of the Tree of Life and its significance in various cultures and mythologies.

Ahura Mazda

The tattoo comes from The Science Tattoo Emporium. The relief is from the palace of Xerxes at Persepolis. In Persian mythology Ahura Mazda is the supreme god, the creator of heaven and Earth.

Enki

Here's a nifty tattoo of Enki, one of the heavy hitters of the Sumerian pantheon. This tattoo comes from here. And just for the fun of it I thought I'd include the original Enki stele. Note the water streaming forth from his body. He's a god of water in a desert area so he's a pretty important dude, hence the crown and throne. I'd think that if I got a similar tattoo I would've included the water. But, eh, to each his own.